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The Hall of Fame outfielder orchestrated "The Catch" in the 1954 World Series with a highlight-reel grab to help his Giants beat the Indians in the Fall Classic.

Trinity Catholic senior Sam Atwell entered local lore after a catch of his own early Thursday morning that lifted the Celtics into the Class 4A state championship game.

With two outs in the seventh and Trinity clinging to a one-run lead over Fort Myers Bishop Verot in the state semifinals, Atwell's heroics saved the Celtics' bacon and gave them a 2-1 victory.

The Vikings had the tying run on second base when Gunnar Joslin drove a ball off TC's Brandon Reitz that looked destined to find open grass in right center.

Atwell, playing right field, got on his horse to track the ball before leaving his feet and getting completely horizontal with the ground to make the catch at JetBlue Park.

"I was struggling at the plate a little bit," said Atwell, who was 0-for-3 with three strikeouts at the plate. "I knew I had to keep my head in the game out in the field. ... When it was hit, I told myself, 'If I miss it, I miss it. I'm diving for it.' And it wound up in my glove."

Head coach Tommy Bond, along with most everybody else in attendance, figured the game was about to be tied up.

"I'm thinking (when the ball is in the air) it's a tie game, and we have to find a way to keep it a tie game and keep the hitter from scoring," Bond said. "Somehow it found his glove.

"The ironic thing about it is when he came off after striking out in his last at-bat, he wasn't happy with the call. He was upset. I put my arm around him and said, 'Sam, I need you to calm down, and play defense. It's done. It's over. There's nothing you can do about it. I need you to play defense.' And he steps out and makes a play like that. I'm proud of him."

The win capped a long day for Trinity (22-8). Weather pushed the start time back four hours, and first pitch wasn't until 11 p.m. on Wednesday night. Atwell ended the game at 1:14 a.m. Thursday morning.

First-pitch for the championship game against Pensacola Catholic is slated for Thursday night at 7:35.

Dash Winningham got the Celtics on the board early with a solo home run to right in the first inning off Bishop Verot starter Thaddeus Ward, while Reitz drove in the second run in the third with a single that scored Anthony Paglia.

“To be honest, I knew he was going to challenge me with a fastball early in the game,” Winningham said. “I just put a good swing on it and drove it out.”

TC senior Jesse Lepore held the Vikings (24-6) down all night to get the win. The Miami signee threw five plus innings, allowing an earned run on three hits and two walks. He struck out eight.

"We scrapped out a couple runs and made it stand up on the mound," Bond said. "Jesse did a great job with a quality start, and Brandon battled his way through it at the end."

Reitz threw two scoreless innings on the back end to earn his sixth save of the season. While it got dicey in a hurry in the seventh, the sophomore said he never lost his confidence.

"I've been going through those situations all year," Reitz said. "Not in this environment, but I treat everything the same way. I just threw my best out there and it worked out for us."

Reitz induced a flyout to Kevin Teaf from Bishop Verot's CJ Alexander for the first out in the seventh, and a groundout to Thomas Layden at second base by Anthony Tejada for the second out.

Then Evan Dougherty, a Duke signee, barely beat out an infield single to second base on a 2-2 count. Layden charged, making a nice bare-handed stab and throw to Winningham at first but was a split-second late.

With Joslin up, Dougherty promptly stole second on the first pitch. Finally, on a 1-2 pitch, Joslin hit the ball Atwell's way to end the game.

"I've seen stuff like that on TV," said Bishop Verot skipper David Nelson, whose team was in the state tournament for the fourth straight season. "... That's the first time as a coach, and even as a player through high school and college that I've seen something like that. To end a game that way on the big stage like this in the state final four is amazing. Unfortunately we ended up on the wrong side of it."

Nelson's team got down early, but battled back behind Ward, who went the distance, striking out 12 and allowing just four hits.

After giving up Trinity's second run in the third inning, Ward slammed the door. The junior put the Celtics down in order over the last three innings.

Bishop Verot's run came in the sixth as they strategically upped Lepore's pitch count. Lepore walked Christian Hammond to start the inning. Bond went to Reitz, who gave up a single to the next batter, Jeff Passantino. Hammond scored on the play.

Reitz and the Celtics got the job done from there, lifting Trinity to its first-ever win at the state tournament. The Celtics are playing in their fourth final four.

"We were 0-3 in state semis, so it's nice to break through," Bond said. "And with the way it ended, I don't think you can come up with a better way to break that trend."

As for the championship game later Thursday, Bond said everybody should be available to pitch with the exception of Lepore, who threw 90 pitches against Bishop Verot. He said either Atwell or Eddie Miller will likely get the start on the mound.

"If we have to run seven different guys out there, we'll run seven different guys out there and piece it together," Bond said. "Thankfully pitching is our strength."

<p><b>FORT MYERS --</b> Move over, Willie Mays. You've got company.</p><p>The Hall of Fame outfielder orchestrated "The Catch" in the 1954 World Series with a highlight-reel grab to help his Giants beat the Indians in the Fall Classic.</p><p>Trinity Catholic senior Sam Atwell entered local lore after a catch of his own early Thursday morning that lifted the Celtics into the Class 4A state championship game.</p><p>With two outs in the seventh and Trinity clinging to a one-run lead over Fort Myers Bishop Verot in the state semifinals, Atwell's heroics saved the Celtics' bacon and gave them a 2-1 victory.</p><p>The Vikings had the tying run on second base when Gunnar Joslin drove a ball off TC's Brandon Reitz that looked destined to find open grass in right center.</p><p>Atwell, playing right field, got on his horse to track the ball before leaving his feet and getting completely horizontal with the ground to make the catch at JetBlue Park.</p><p>"I was struggling at the plate a little bit," said Atwell, who was 0-for-3 with three strikeouts at the plate. "I knew I had to keep my head in the game out in the field. ... When it was hit, I told myself, 'If I miss it, I miss it. I'm diving for it.' And it wound up in my glove."</p><p>Head coach Tommy Bond, along with most everybody else in attendance, figured the game was about to be tied up.</p><p>"I'm thinking (when the ball is in the air) it's a tie game, and we have to find a way to keep it a tie game and keep the hitter from scoring," Bond said. "Somehow it found his glove.</p><p>"The ironic thing about it is when he came off after striking out in his last at-bat, he wasn't happy with the call. He was upset. I put my arm around him and said, 'Sam, I need you to calm down, and play defense. It's done. It's over. There's nothing you can do about it. I need you to play defense.' And he steps out and makes a play like that. I'm proud of him."</p><p>The win capped a long day for Trinity (22-8). Weather pushed the start time back four hours, and first pitch wasn't until 11 p.m. on Wednesday night. Atwell ended the game at 1:14 a.m. Thursday morning.</p><p>First-pitch for the championship game against Pensacola Catholic is slated for Thursday night at 7:35.</p><p>Dash Winningham got the Celtics on the board early with a solo home run to right in the first inning off Bishop Verot starter Thaddeus Ward, while Reitz drove in the second run in the third with a single that scored Anthony Paglia.</p><p>“To be honest, I knew he was going to challenge me with a fastball early in the game,” Winningham said. “I just put a good swing on it and drove it out.”</p><p>TC senior Jesse Lepore held the Vikings (24-6) down all night to get the win. The Miami signee threw five plus innings, allowing an earned run on three hits and two walks. He struck out eight.</p><p>"We scrapped out a couple runs and made it stand up on the mound," Bond said. "Jesse did a great job with a quality start, and Brandon battled his way through it at the end."</p><p>Reitz threw two scoreless innings on the back end to earn his sixth save of the season. While it got dicey in a hurry in the seventh, the sophomore said he never lost his confidence.</p><p>"I've been going through those situations all year," Reitz said. "Not in this environment, but I treat everything the same way. I just threw my best out there and it worked out for us."</p><p>Reitz induced a flyout to Kevin Teaf from Bishop Verot's CJ Alexander for the first out in the seventh, and a groundout to Thomas Layden at second base by Anthony Tejada for the second out.</p><p>Then Evan Dougherty, a Duke signee, barely beat out an infield single to second base on a 2-2 count. Layden charged, making a nice bare-handed stab and throw to Winningham at first but was a split-second late.</p><p>With Joslin up, Dougherty promptly stole second on the first pitch. Finally, on a 1-2 pitch, Joslin hit the ball Atwell's way to end the game.</p><p>"I've seen stuff like that on TV," said Bishop Verot skipper David Nelson, whose team was in the state tournament for the fourth straight season. "... That's the first time as a coach, and even as a player through high school and college that I've seen something like that. To end a game that way on the big stage like this in the state final four is amazing. Unfortunately we ended up on the wrong side of it."</p><p>Nelson's team got down early, but battled back behind Ward, who went the distance, striking out 12 and allowing just four hits.</p><p>After giving up Trinity's second run in the third inning, Ward slammed the door. The junior put the Celtics down in order over the last three innings.</p><p>Bishop Verot's run came in the sixth as they strategically upped Lepore's pitch count. Lepore walked Christian Hammond to start the inning. Bond went to Reitz, who gave up a single to the next batter, Jeff Passantino. Hammond scored on the play.</p><p>Reitz and the Celtics got the job done from there, lifting Trinity to its first-ever win at the state tournament. The Celtics are playing in their fourth final four.</p><p>"We were 0-3 in state semis, so it's nice to break through," Bond said. "And with the way it ended, I don't think you can come up with a better way to break that trend."</p><p>As for the championship game later Thursday, Bond said everybody should be available to pitch with the exception of Lepore, who threw 90 pitches against Bishop Verot. He said either Atwell or Eddie Miller will likely get the start on the mound.</p><p>"If we have to run seven different guys out there, we'll run seven different guys out there and piece it together," Bond said. "Thankfully pitching is our strength."</p><p>----</p><p><i>Contact Ted Beck at ted.beck@ocala.com.</i></p><p><iframe width="640" height="390" src="http://www.youtube.com/embed/giJnvpcuS_4" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen></iframe></p>